After a dominating sophomore season at Americus (Ga.) Sumter High, defensive tackle Jonathan Battle missed the majority of his junior season after a devastating knee injury. It took almost a full year before the 6-1, 280-pound Battle could retake the field with his teammates, and even then there were challenges.

Battle sustained significant damage to his ACL and other ligaments in his knee, which required two surgeries to repair. Once he built up the confidence that his knee would hold up, though, Battle started to regain the form he showed as a sophomore when he tallied 99 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and four sacks.